Selsey Lifeboat Station - Launches
6th September 2015
Both Selsey Lifeboats Launched to Missing Swimmer
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The RNLI Lifeboats were launched at 3.24 p.m. after a woman informed the Lifeboat station attendant that she was concerned for her husband who had gone for a swim and not returned. (At this time he was approximately 60mins overdue).
This information was passed to the duty Coxswain who, with two others, scanned the area from the Lifeboat station using binoculars. With nothing sighted the Coxswain notified Solent Coastguard who requested both Lifeboats launch and the Rescue Helicopter R104. A local dive rhib from Mulberry Divers also joined the search with Selsey Coastguards conducting a beach search.
The man had entered the water 2-3 hundred metres west of the Lifeboat station so the search was from that position towards Bognor Regis as this was the tidal stream at the time. It was known that the swimmer could possibly have gone to the Mixon pole some 1.25 miles south of the Lifeboat station.
The weather on scene was wind force 3 with a slight sea state in sunshine with good visibility. At 3.45 p.m. the Coastguards requested that both the Littlehampton RNLI lifeboats join the search. At approximately 4.25 p.m. Solent Coastguards received an emergency phone call from a member of the public reporting a swimmer approximately 100 metres off shore near to the Selsey Bill point. All the rescue craft were approaching this position in the search and the Selsey inshore Lifeboat was able to recover the man and confirm that he was the missing swimmer.
The man was unaware that the rescue craft were searching for him and was keen to finish his swim but after 3 hours in the water the Lifeboat crew decided to take him back to the station to be checked by an ambulance crew and reunite him with his wife and family. All rescue craft were stood down at 4.35 p.m. Both Selsey Lifeboats rehoused at 4.54 p.m.
AWL CREW: Willy Pledger (Coxswain), Dave Lamdin (2nd Coxswain), Geoff Mellett (Mechanic), Max Gilligan, James Albrey, Sam Troughton- Smith, Carol Tipping, Dan Langford, and Max Wiseman
ILB CREW: Gary Pearce (Helmsman), Craig Sergeant and Andy Lee.